


In This World

by MiniMoffat



Category: D.Gray-man
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Post-Battle
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-12
Updated: 2020-07-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 23:34:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25214755
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiniMoffat/pseuds/MiniMoffat
Summary: Takes place on Anita's boat before it sinks but after Lenalee returns. Lavi fixing up her wounds and overall gentle stuff because I'm in a fluff-writing mood today.
Relationships: Lavi/Lenalee Lee
Comments: 1
Kudos: 15





	In This World

_Am I still in this world?_

The words echoed inside of his mind, more tears stinging at his eyes. He shifted her weight on his back slightly, making his way down towards Anita's cabin. Lavi could hear her tensing with each step he took, and an overwhelming amount of guilt flooded over him. Lenalee had almost died and there was _nothing_ he could have done to help her. What would he have done if she hadn't come back? _Moved on_. A voice echoed in the back of his mind. No--that was a Lavi that was long gone. A Lavi who paid attention to the rules of being a Bookman. A Lavi who realized just how much these Exorcists meant to him. 

"Lavi?" A weak voice came from behind him. God, she must have been exhausted.

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry." He wanted to laugh, but knew that would just hurt her too much. Instead, he shook his head and just continued putting one foot in front of the other.

"It's not your fault." He whispered, finally making it to the door. He quickly reached out for it, careful not to drop the girl who was hardly able to even hold onto him.

"But I worried you, right?" The redhead couldn't answer that one. He stood in the open doorway, staring at the bed for a moment as he took her words in. Of _course_ she had worried him. They were friends now. Something in the back of his mind scolded him because he knew that wasn't just it. Seeing her body torn up on the deck of the ship, the strange marks on her legs, and her being barely responsive had filled him with an anger and sadness he hadn't known before. There was something else bubbling beneath the surface of their friendship, but _that_ one was going to be buried back down in the recesses of his memory. 

He moved and knelt down next to the bed, making it so she only needed to support herself for a moment before sitting back down. Lavi had tried to insist on carrying her bridal style, but she had insisted that she could support herself and that it would be easier for him to open the door. That was true, but as soon as he saw her face contort in pain at just the small moment, he wished he had pressured her further. 

Lenalee scooted back on the bed, propping herself up. The older of the two glanced around the room, taking note of some lotion on Anita's vanity and moving to grab it and place it on the bed. When he turned around, it was obvious Lenalee was tired, but she fought the urge to sleep as Lavi sat down on the bed next to her. "You can sleep. Just let me help for a bit." He said, propping her legs on his lap. She probably assumed he was doing this for his job as a Bookman--he certainly had never even heard of Innocence protecting someone or marking up someone's legs like this. He'd definitely have to talk to Bookman about it later, but even he seemed to understand that the young girl needed to rest before they pressed more about it.

"I'm not tired." It was a blatant lie. Still, she was more worried about everyone else fussing over her than anything else. Lavi tentatively traced one of the circles on her legs, glancing up towards her. 

"Does that hurt?" She shook her head in response. Then, he added a little bit of pressure before raising a brow to look at her once more.

"It's just sore. It's really not a big deal." Lavi nodded, grabbing the lotion and squirting some in his hands before rubbing them together to even it out. His applied a generous amount of pressure up and down her legs, making sure every couple of seconds that she was comfortable with the massage. Once he found a pressure that seemed to be relaxing to her and a comfortable silence had fallen between them, he finally broke it.

"It's alright to not be okay, you know." He had seen her upset and definitely not alright before, but seeing her try so hard to be accommodating about him being in the room was a little strange to see. "If you're tired, sleep. If you're sore, it _is_ a big deal. You could have died today, Lenalee."

She was quiet for a long time, but she nodded slowly. Tears built up in her eyes as she stared at the other who was now just focusing on her stupid, horrible legs. "I know." Her voice cracked, remembering the feeling of water filling her lungs. She still wasn't even quite sure how she managed to escape from her prison underneath the surface. Certainly it wasn't _really_ because of an Akuma. "I just kept thinking about how I'd never see everyone again..."

It was a well documented fear that the Exorcists had. They knew they were doing their duty, but that didn't make them less scared. And if they chose to turn their backs on their Innocence, they would meet the same fate as Suman had. "We're right here. You're not going anywhere." He tried to assure her, but before she could even speak, he knew that he had said the wrong thing.

"Not all of us." Allen was still missing and his own heart fell to the pit of his stomach remembering Lenalee clutching to him and crying as they searched for him. He remembered her breaking down at the pile of blood they had found. And now she was crying about it again. Lavi pressed his lips into a thin line, nodding in acknowledgement that he had messed up. Leaning over, he moved to wipe away a tear with his thumb, offering her an apologetic smile.

"I'm sorry. We'll find him, alright? You're safe and he's safe, too." Lenalee nodded, but her bottom lip continued to tremble. "You can keep crying if you want to." She shook her head, wiping furiously at her eyes. 

"Can you come sit with me for a bit?" The boy nodded, gently lifting her legs from his lap before crawling to go sit next to her on top of the bed. Her arms wrapped around his waist and she nuzzled into his chest, sending a faint shade of pink to his cheeks. A hand moved to rest on her head, his fingers scratching at her scalp in an attempt to calm her. His green eye watched the dark hair move around his fingers, taking in how strange of a sight it was to see her without her hair. He had to admit, it was actually kind of cute. It needed to have the singed ends cut off, but Lenalee could just about pull off any haircut she wanted.

He had to admit, it was nice to feel her warmth. While he was generally someone who didn't mind touching people, having someone lean on him like this when his own emotions were running high tethered him to a more stable emotional state. He could only hope that it would be even more helpful to her. 

She shifted slightly, instead of closing her eyes and focusing on the silence between them, her dark hues stared down at the patterns now printed on her skin. Lavi watched this carefully, trying to judge the expression on her face, but it remained an unnerving blankness. "I hate it." She finally whispered, one of her hands moving to run along one of the targets on her legs. 

"I think they're kind of cool." He offered, hoping that it would help just a little bit. He leaned forward a little to trace one as well, forcing a smile on his lips. In truth, he actually probably saw it in a similar way to her--it was a haunting reminder of the time she almost died. "It's like a tattoo." He glanced towards her once more, but her expression remained blank. Leaning back against the headboard, he decided it was lightly best if he just stopped talking.

A few minutes of silence hung between them before Lenalee spoke once more. "Can you bandage them up? I don't want to look at it anymore." Lavi nodded, moving towards the cabinet Anita had told him she kept some bandages. He started at the feet and worked his way up, being careful to balance the tightness so they didn't fall or cut off circulation. He could feel her eyes on him as he did so, but he didn't meet her gaze. Listening to her and seeing her injuries, he just kept reminding himself about how he almost lost her. What would he have done then? What would his new home be like without her?

When he finished on the last leg, he leaned down and kissed the bandages. When he sat up once more, a sheepish grin was on his lips which only grew when he noticed Lenalee's confused expression. "You know, kiss it, make it better?" He chuckled, which brought the smallest hint of a smile to her lips. "I'll let you sleep, though." She nodded slightly, though moved to grab his arm before he could walk away from the bed.

"Thank you, Lavi. For everything." Lenalee's voice cracked and he could see that it was taking all of her might not to cry. He simply nodded, gave her hand a squeeze, and moved to exit Anita's cabin. They needed to leave soon, but if she could get even just a _little_ bit of rest, that would help.


End file.
